rw,-yrfVmtf'r
VOLUME 8, NUMBER I
6
Jim TII11, and tholr nlnown of war from similar
nourcoB. That UiIh movement 1h anti-domo-oratlc
coiiHpirnoy, and not an lionoMt fight? waged
for what aro doomed to lio Ihc liont interests
of tho party, 1h evident not only from its source
from tho rharactor of those who wage tho
flglit lniL alMO from tho fact that It 1h not
waged In hc.half of any particular candidate.
Tho plan of campaign Ih to get anll-Hryan
votcH by any and every moans". At tho national
oommltteo meeting two soliumes wero proposed
l)y thoHo conKplratorH, but forhinalely wero de
Tented. One wan to forbid the Instruction of
dqlogatoH, tho other was to abollHh the unit
rule. The purpose of the first wjih to make It
possible for delegates to betray (heir constitu
ents; of the second to secure a few stray anti
Uryan delegates from states that are overwhelm
ingly committed to the Nebraskan.
These schemes blighted, the plotters aro
iiqw turning to the ancient "favorite son" re
course. With .Fohnson they want to Boduco
Minnesota; with Harmon, Ohio; with Gray,
Delaware; with Wilson. New Jersey; with
Daniel, Virginia; with Clinulor o,r some other,
New York, and so on down tho lino. Then,
where they win develop no favorite sons, they
will fight for unlnstructed delegations; delega
tions, even, which may seem friendly to Bryan,
but which contain jih many delegates as possible
Unit can be counted on to oppose him if it be
comes evident In the convention that there is a
chance to defeat, him.
It Is Important that the democrats of tho
United Stales should Inform themselves as to
what Is going on. The plot depends entirely
on the ability of tho plotters to deceive t ho peo
ple. They will deceive them with favorite sons
if I hey can; with pleas for uninstructed dele
gations -if they can; with anti-Mryan men mas
querading as Mryan's friends if tliey can. It
would lake .'I2!t delegates to prevent Bryan's
nomination under tho two-thirds rule. Tho
plotters profess to believe they can get 240 of
the.so from New York, New lOngland, Now Jor
Hoy, Pennsylvania and Delaware; tho rest they
want to get from Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia anil
two or three other states, either by chicane or
under tho favorite son pretext.
There is very slight danger, in the World
Ilorald's judgment, Unit this plot will succeed.
Tho. reason i won't succeed Is that the rank and
file, of the party is overwhelmingly for Bryan,
in tho east as well as in the west. When tho
rank and file realizes the true nature of the
schome it will rise and crush the schemers, and
the Denver convention will be a love feast
presaging victory rather than the riot forbodlng
disaster for which tho plotters are hoping.
Omaha World-Herald.
Mr. Bryan Before the
Jefferson Club in Chicago
.,.. .. . ....... -
MM. ,.li :
niu iwimwiiiK ri-pon OI
banquet in Chicago is taken
the JetTor.on club
frmn tho P.hlfnir
- - ..w w...v0V
Kccoru-uorald:
The opening gun in tho Illinois campaign
of William Jennings Bryan was fired last night
at the Jackson day dinner of the Jefferson Club
nt the Auditorium hotel, when Democrats of all
the warring factions in the state buried their
differences and toasted tho Nebraskan as "tho
guiding star of 100S," as William IS. Dover,
toast master, ph rased it. The "peerless one"
responded In an address In which he nourished
the harmony idea. He devoted much attention
to the principles of Jefferson and Jackson, at
tacked the republican loaders as "aristocrats"
and therefore unable to understand the needs
of tho country, whacked at the tariff, blamed
tho recent financial stringency on the republican
party and wound up with tho utterance that
all that Is necessary for a democratic victory
noxt falls "for the democratic party to .convince
the public that it will bo truly democratic if
ontrusted with power."
Considerable attention was also devoted by
Mr Bryan to "federal encroachment," a phrase
extremely popular with the members of tie Jef
ferson Club, which had -blaaened on its memi
cards such quotations as:
I he spirit of encroachment-tends
to consolidate the powers of all tho de
partments in one, and thus to create
whatever tho form of government a
real despotismWashington.
view
A ( n!!Ll0!!l?P' from. n democratic Point of
-.. v... uttuiiuiuu irom the father
The Commoner
country was supplied by Mr. Bryan when in
Ills speech he drew the following distinction
between the two great parties:
"The aristocrat would substitute national
remedies for state ones because predatory wealth
can protect itself from national legislation more
easily than from state legislation. The demo
crat would add the national remedy to the state
remedy and thus give to the people the pro
tection of both tho state and federal govern
ment." This drew a burst of applause from all tho
tables, and later on Toastmastor Dover took oc
casion to read from the menu cards another
quotation on somewhat similar lines:
What has destroyed the liberty and
tho rights of man in every government
which has ever existed under the sun?
Tho generalizing and concentrating all
cares and powers into one body.
Jefferson.
In a passing reference to the money ques
tion tho Nebraskan shot the following bolt at
the republican leaders:
"If the republican leaders had spent half as
much time in trying to make depositors secure
as they have in trying to increase the profits
of the banker, we would not have had any panic
at all."
The address was applauded by 750 guests,
nearly every section of the state being repre
sented at tho banquet boards. All cliques and
factions wore on hand, and from the easy way
in which they broke bread and spilled salt to
gether tho gathering was taken as a further
indication that feuds will bo forgotten in Illinois
in the Bryan campaign, at least on the surface.
The Burke men were there in full force, in
the full glory of dinner coats and diamond
studded expanses of shirt front. The Sullivan
faction was well represented by State Chairman
Charles Boesehenstein and others. Roger C.
Sullivan himself did not attend, the report being
that he was suddenly called to Mount Clemens,
Mich. Tho regular county organization had a
deputation of over 100, in their ordinary clothes;
the Jefferson club and the Iroquois club filed
several tables; the Dunne men were there, and
the followers of Carter H. Harrison, also the
leaders of tho Hearst movement four years ago.
Added to all these elements was a large sprink
ling of down state democrats. The leaders said
that tho attendance was substantial evidence
that all the multifarious factions in the local
democracy have clambered into the Bryan band
van.
The democratic party of Indiana was repre
sented on the programme by a speech from John
W. Kern, who indicated during his remarks that
the democrats across tho state line are with the
Nebraskan.
Senator W. J. Stone of Missouri handled the
topic "1908" in a manner that brought rounds
of applause from tho banquoters. On gazing
into tho crystal the senator was able to discern
signs that led him to augur a democratic victory
in the national election, with Bryan heading
tho ticket. Tho list ot' toasts was completed by
Adlal E. Stevenson, former vice president of
the ITnlted States, who dwelt on "Thomas Jef
ferson" and preached democratic doctrines to
his listeners. The address of welcome was de
livered by Edgar Lee Masters, president of the
Jefferson Club. Alderman William E Dever
served as toastmaster.
Although the dinner began at 7 o'clock and
an early start was thus obtained on the speech
making, tho orators were so imbued with their
themes that it was not until a late hour that
Mr Bryan was called on for the concluding
address. In his remarks the Nebraskan said-
. "Jackson was democratic in the same sense
n which Jefferson was democratic. Both be
lieved in the people both in their right to self
government and in their capacity for self-government.
And what is of no less importance both
considered society and society's needs from the
democratic standpoint that is, from the stand
point of the interests of the whole people 0l
this day, when we meet in the memory of Jack
son, is entirely fitting that we should con
sider this the fundamental and far-reach?, k
question, namely, from what standpoint shall
we look at society? The aristocrat regards so
ciety as an organization suspended from the top
tho democrat considers society as a strueh, A
-0. ..... nlv iiiLVMUSLS (II rnfi W in n .. i
- vwtlllLl
of his assured that the prosperity of the
find its way up through the various classes that
rest upon the masses.
"The aristocrat is always demanding some
thing for the well-to-do the employers, the cap
tains of industry on the theory that these
would generously divide with- the rest of tho
people. The republican leaders I do not mean
the comparatively few reform republicans but
those who dominate the party's policy in tho
House and in the Senate these look at society
from the aristocratic standpoint, and therefore
cannot understand the real needs of the country
or propose the legislation necessary to correct
existing abuses.
"If the trust question is under consideration
tho republican leaders at once become solicitous
for fear rash and ill considered legislation may
disturb the gigantic business enterprises which
are crushing out independence and industry.
The democrats look at the trust question from
the standpoint of 80,000,000 of people who aro
victimized and insist upon effective legislation.
If the tariff question is the one under dis
cussion the republican leaders at once insist that
the high tariff is responsible for the nation's
prosperity and warn the country that any inter
ference with the profits of protected manufac
turers would bring business prostration.
"Just now they are not so noisy as usual be
cause we have a panic with the high tariff system
in full force. But even panics cannot convince
the more partisan republicans of the falsity of
their boast that panics are impossible under the
republican rule. The democrats insist upon
tariff reform because they regard it as unjust
that the entire population should be taxed for
the benefit of a small portion of the population,
especially when the beneficiaries of the high tar
iff are so ungrateful as to soil abroad cheaper
than at home.
"If the railroad question is under considera
tion the republican leaders at once take the side'
01L thJr ralIrad magnates and assume that any
efiechye regulation will bring business to a
standstill. The republican leaders in the senate
have refused to permit an inquiry into the pres
ent value of the railroads, and they have pre
vented legislation which would prohibit the is-
??;nnf water2d stck- The democrats, look
ing at the question from the standpoint of tho
patrons of the road and the stockholders, insist
that the railroad business should be put upon
an honest basis so that there will be no great
flUCtn iVthe v?!u of the stocks an bods
Hie iortunes that have been made by rait
road managers have not come from salaries for
even enormous salaries do not make miliion-
recerves $1UU,000 a year he has to work flftv
years to earn $5,000,000, but if he allowed
to juggle the stock of the road he can make more
in a lew months' time on the side thaiUie en
-xr attention to the en.
n m "T1e 4?uestions which involve a discussion
of the rolat ye spheres of the nation and the state
bring out the difference in the noint nf ,5?
The aristocrat wants to get the governmen "ns
Nr away from the people as possible; the demo
crat desires to bring the government as near to
the people as possible. The aristocrat L?i
substitute national remedies for state ones be
cause predatory wealth can protect itself f
national legislation more easily than frn 5?
legislation. The democrat wL ddd Se Sa"
tional remedy to the state remedy and thua"
give to the people the protection nf w?
state and federal governments th the
"The labor question is considered from both
standpoints; the aristocrat thinks o ly of th5
large employers; the democrats of theaimvnf
employes and of the cenernl niiiii i!i ,y ,
inconvenienced by any dlsrunUor nf Wfh h ,
relations betweennU,LyerS1aPdenmpYoyerien(lly
"And the question of imperialism in nir
manner presents the difference in viiL !
imperialist thinks moVeltthoxtlliP011'' the
tively few who engSgo inLpor trade PY
democrat knows that trade purcniSX
cannon's mouth costs more than i? 1 ?
and the cost falls uponU th people while
the profits accrue'to but a few in til ? e
have to furnish the sons as well as the ZT
to support a carpet-bag government nGy'
fuul tleve
be tound in the money stringency thm,,S l,s,t,
wo are passing. ThoubSSSS at'oiS
(Continued on Page 9)
masses would
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